Sakura at Sake No Hana

Picnick Hakkasan style

The buzz
Sake No Hana is the very sleek restaurant at the top of a narrow escalator just by the Economist building, so it’s rather surprising to find this member of the Hakkasan group promoting picnics. Or, to be specific, hanami, which is the centuries-old practice of picnicking under a blooming cherry tree. Last time I looked, ornamental cherries were thin on the ground on St James’s but, undeterred, the inventive brains behind Sake No Hana have created their own, exquisite, flowering bower beneath which we are encouraged to feast.

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The lowdown
The florist Veevers Carter has swathed the whole of Sake No Hana’s bar in cherry blossom, including the arch over the entrance which beckons anyone suffering from spring fever almost irresistibly. In this ethereal setting, you’re invited to tuck into a ‘Sakura’ or cherry-blossom lunch.

Menu highlights
The Hanami Bellini Cocktail, with sparkling sake, cherry liqueur and gin, or the Sakuratini Cocktail with maraschino cherry liqueur, sake, vodka, and Cointreau, are sharp enough to wake up your appetite for the delights to follow. We had one vegetarian Sakura bento box and one meat one which worked beautifully as a pair with us scrupulously sharing the sashimi. One of the two-decker bento boxes contained superb chu-toro and salmon sashimi, spicy tuna and California rolls. The vegetarian version had crisp, vegetable sushi and fresh, searing-hot vegetable tempura. We washed it all down with sparkling sake which may well be my new favourite drink, and followed up with the Sakura Palet D’or, a cherry-chocolate pudding of surpassing deliciousness made with fresh cherries, nashi pear, and cherry-blossom tea ice-cream made from the leaves of cherry trees.

Perfect for…
Urban sophisticates hankering, briefly, for a taste of the country. It made us start planning a trip to Japan.

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